Somewhere Only We Know
by Tinkerbell3902
Summary: "Because in this moment, within these walls, she wasn't the daughter of a rival family and he wasn't a lieutenant for the very family that made it their mission to destroy her family. She was his and he was hers." Kristina/Ethan.
1. Oh Simple Thing, Where Have You Gone?

**A/N**: So I started this piece a while ago, based off some spoilers at the time and Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know", and I finally found the inspiration to work on it again! If you haven't listened to Darren Criss' rendition from _Glee_, do it now. I dare you not to be moved. I originally was going to make this a one shot but it took on a life of its own and it's now a multi-chapter AU Ethina piece, my first one (yay!), but it's going to be short. I'm thinking that it'll only be about 5 parts. So, with that being said, I hope you like it! Please review/leave comments!

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_And if you have a minute, why don't we go  
>Talk about it somewhere only we know?<br>This could be the end of everything  
>So why don't we go?<br>Somewhere only we know…_

"Somewhere Only We Know" – Keane

**Chapter 1 – Oh Simple Thing, Where Have You Gone?**

He always knew that she would be a vision in white.

Her dress was simple, shorter than traditional ones. The hem of her dress hit right above her knee as she sashayed towards him in that small chapel. Her hair hung in soft ringlets at her shoulders with only the adornment of a white hibiscus flower tucked behind her left ear. The chapel was filled with candles, bathing her in a rich glow that took his breath away. Through his travels, he had seen many things, things that would render any man speechless.

But nothing that compared to how beautiful she looked that night.

He grasped her hand just a little bit tighter, doing everything in his power to not snap at the priest for not talking faster. This priest needed to hurry up before she came to her senses and changed her mind. She let out a small chuckle and squeezed his hand at his obvious tension, wordlessly telling him that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you, Kristina Adela Corinthos-Davis, take Ethan Lovett to be your husband? To love, honor, and cherish in good times and in bad? In sickness and in health? And forsaking all others? 'Til death do you part?" the priest asked.

"I do." Kristina said, never taking her eyes off of him.

Ethan let out a long breath, one that he didn't even know that he was holding, at her affirmation. He felt the corners of his mouth curl up into a smile. He wanted to save this moment, bottle it up, and keep it forever. Because in this moment, within these walls, she wasn't daughter of a rival family and he wasn't a lieutenant for the very family that made it their mission to destroy her family. She was his and he was hers.

"And do you, Ethan Lovett, take Kristina Adela Corinthos-Davis to be your wife? To love, honor, and cherish in good times and in bad? In sickness and in health? And forsaking all others? 'Til death do you part?" the priest asked, turning to him.

"I do… with all of my heart." Ethan exhaled.

There were no wedding bands to be exchanged since this wedding was a spur of the moment decision but he did have a ring for her. He had been carrying it in his pocket for the past three weeks, waiting for the right moment to give it to her. He could see the tears begin to well up in her eyes as he slid the diamond ring onto her finger and felt them on his cheeks when she kissed him after they had been pronounced as husband and wife.

"I wish that we didn't have to be a secret…" she sighed.

He looked over at his wife as they pulled up to a stoplight. Her eyes were sad as she looked ahead. Thirty minutes into their marriage and he was already failing her. Reality was slowly starting to sink in. The reality of stolen glances, fleeting touches, and nights spent in safe-houses that they would have to go back to. No rings or vows could change that.

"Are you sorry that we got married?" he asked.

"No! Of course not, Ethan. I just wish—all I want is to go to sleep in your arms tonight and wake up with you in the morning without worrying if someone is going to catch me coming home late. I just want to be your wife in every way possible." Kristina said.

Her fingers were interlaced with his and he quickly brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly. He knew that things weren't going to be easy for the two of them. They never had been but he was greedy. He wanted all of her even when he knew it wasn't possible. He wanted her to wear his ring and to belong to him. He needed it.

"Listen to me, you're my wife now. **My wife**… in every way that it counts. Don't ever doubt that, Kristina, ok?" he said.

"Ok, I won't…" she breathed.

"And it's only for a little while… just until this situation between the Zaccharas and your father calms down and it will. After that, we'll start living our lives together… just like we promised." he said.

The light turned green but Ethan waited for a response from her. She brushed a tear from her cheek with her free hand and squeezed his hand with her other one. They could do this. They had gone an entire year, living in the shadows and only acting on their feelings for each other far away from the prying eyes of their families. They could hold on for just a little bit longer if it meant that they got to spend the rest of their lives together. Kristina leaned over the center console and pressed her lips to his. Her lips lingered until the light turned red again.

"I love you, Ethan…" she whispered.

Her forehead was pressed to his and his heart was beating so fast and hard that he could hear it ringing in his ears. His hand crept up behind her neck and pulled her lips back down onto his. The way that he needed her should've scared him and it did but he was more afraid of a life without her.

"I love you more…" he rasped.

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As soon as she pulled into her father's driveway, Kristina threw her car into park and slumped over the steering wheel, sobbing. Saying goodbye to Ethan had been harder than she thought it would be. She knew that he had obligations to take care of and was coming back for her in a few hours to take her away for their honeymoon but it didn't make it any easier to drive away from him. She twirled the ring around on her finger, watching it as it caught the moonlight. She missed him already.

"Kristina? Is that you?"

She quickly wiped her eyes and climbed out of her car, shrugging on her peacoat. Her father was standing in the doorway, hands shoved into his pockets and his mouth in a set line and Kristina swallowed hard: he was not pleased.

"Are you incapable of answering your phone?" Sonny growled.

"Not now, Dad… I'm really tired." Kristina sighed.

"Oh, we're gonna do this right now. You know the rules. You can't just run off and disappear for hours, Kristina!" he cried.

She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. She couldn't deal with this. Not right now. All of her emotional energy was focused on missing her husband, aching to feel his arms around her and his lips on hers as they were just an hour ago. She had no energy to give to her father and his overprotective nature.

"Dad… please, can we just talk about this later?" she begged.

"Not until you tell me where you were! Kristina, these are dangerous times that we're in… you know that the Zaccharas are waiting for a chance to strike at me and Anthony Zacchara has no concept of what's sacred. You remember what happened to Brenda." he said, his voice suddenly turning grave.

It had been almost six months since they buried Brenda, the first casualty of this bloody war. She remembered dancing with Ethan and smiling until her face hurt at Brenda and her father's wedding. They had all been so happy that day. And it only took eighteen months for that to all go up in flames. Her father locked himself in a room for three days straight and when he finally emerged, he told Kristina that she was never going to see Ethan again.

And it was only after two weeks of being apart, Ethan told Kristina that he was in love with her.

"I can't lose you like I lost Brenda, Kristina…" Sonny said, resolutely shaking his head.

"I'm not some helpless little girl anymore, Dad!" she cried.

"You are still my little girl! And I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe! Even if you don't like it!" he shouted.

Kristina's hands curled up into fists at her sides and she swiftly turned on her heel, heading in the direction of the front door. This was just too much to handle right now and surely if she stayed any longer, she would say something to him that she would surely regret. Sonny, however, was right there, hot on her heels as she stormed out of the house.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Sam and Jason's… I'm not staying here tonight if you're going to act like this!" she spat.

She tore out of the driveway in her car and headed back in the direction of town. She couldn't wait to get out of this town and just be with Ethan again. The world was rid of chaos and seemed calmer when she was in his arms. He was just magical like that. She made a wide turn into the parking lot of Jason's building and pulled into an empty space. She would have to tell Ethan that there was a slight change in plans for their honeymoon and he would of course ask her if everything was alright.

He worried about her too much as well.

She climbed out of the car and fiddled with her keys to arm the alarm. Her car beeped, indicating that it was locked, and Kristina found herself losing her balance, slipping on something wet and falling to the floor.

"Ow! Ugh, what the hell—" she began, as she stood up.

She could barely get out the phrase when she saw the blood on the hem of her white dress. The fall had hurt but nothing was broken and she didn't feel any cuts or scrapes on her skin. The light flickered overhead and she followed the reflection all the way around to the back of a black SUV. There was someone there. Her limbs shook violently as she drew closer and closer to the body until that body was no longer a body, but a person, one with blue lifeless eyes and a chest riddled with bullets.

"Oh my god!" she screamed.

It was Jason.

And he was dead.


	2. Something To Rely On

**A/N**: I've been reading the reviews/comments for this piece and I'm glad that I've piqued your interest! Let's hope that I can keep it going Keep those comments coming, they're really good inspiration for writing. Happy reading and enjoy this next installment!

**Chapter 2 – Something to Rely On**

The city was on fire.

Anarchy plagued the back alleys and dark corners of Port Charles. Jason Morgan, the enforcer of the Corinthos-Morgan organization, wasn't the first casualty of this war and probably wouldn't be the last but his death would surely yield the largest retribution. Even more so than Brenda Barrett's death six months ago. And Ethan was scared. He hadn't been the one to pull the trigger, of course, and he hadn't been stupid enough to give the order to take Jason out. But all of that didn't matter because it wouldn't matter to Kristina.

His wife would surely see him as being partially responsible for making her sister a widow.

"Ethan!"

He barely managed to turn around before Johnny Zacchara embraced him. Ethan's arms were heavy as he hugged the man who he always regarded as a brother, not merely just as a best friend. He had been with Johnny since taking over the Zacchara organization and never made any apologies for the choices that he made.

That is, until he received the call about Jason Morgan in his parking garage with his chest pumped full of bullets.

"Jason Morgan is–" Ethan started.

"Dead… I know. This is going to send Sonny on a warpath." Johnny said, pulling Ethan into the warehouse.

"Did you order the hit?" Ethan cried.

"No! Even though he worked for Sonny, I respected Jason. This has my father written all over it. He's been trying to goad Sonny into getting careless and making a mistake and now that Jason's gone…" Johnny began.

"I don't know how this situation could get any worse." Ethan muttered and Johnny winced. He clearly knew something contrary to that statement.

"Kristina was the one who found Jason…" Johnny sighed.

Ethan put his head in his hands and moaned. How could this happen? How could the best day of his life turn into the absolute worse within three hours? That moment when he held Kristina in his arms, feeling her heart beating against him and vowing to love her forever, was so fresh in his mind and now he wasn't even certain if forever was going to be in the cards for the two of them.

"I know that you're not with her anymore… but I know that you still love her." Johnny said quietly.

Ethan looked up from his hands into his friend's eyes and wanted to tell him the truth. He wanted to tell his best friend that he hadn't been strong and couldn't stay away from her. He wanted to tell him that he got married because he was selfish and loved Kristina too damn much to be away from her. But he couldn't. Regardless of how Johnny felt about his father, Anthony Zacchara had a strange power over his son and even though Johnny was his best friend, Kristina was Ethan's wife.

And he held that sacred.

"Listen, I gotta go…" Ethan said and Johnny nodded and put his hand on Ethan's shoulder.

"Alright, be safe… it's chaos out there and you call me if anything else happens, ok?" Johnny asked.

"Of course." Ethan said, nodding his head.

He didn't like keeping secrets from Johnny but he had no choice. As much as he wanted to vent about his frustrations about not being able to be with Kristina right now or despair about how she probably didn't even want to see him right now because of Jason's murder, he still needed to keep her safe. That was why they had to be a secret. The thought of anyone using Kristina against him made him physically sick to his stomach. He would rather die than to have one hair on her head touched. As he put his keys into the ignition of his car, his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and swallowed hard as he looked at the caller ID.

"Kristina," he breathed.

"Where are you?" she asked, her voice cracking mid-question, and he winced.

He could take a lot of things, just not her tears.

"At one of the Zacchara warehouses. Are you alright?" he asked.

"Can you meet me at our safe-house?" she quickly asked.

"Kristina…" he said, sounding less like a warning and more like a plea for her to not cry anymore.

"Please, Ethan…" she sputtered.

He could never deny her, especially when she was upset because all he wanted to do was to take her pain away. He pressed his forehead to the steering wheel and sighed. He would do anything for her. If she didn't want to be married to him anymore because of this, he would let her go. It would kill him to do it but he would do it if that was what she really wanted from him.

"I'll be there in thirty…" he whispered.

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Kristina was probably going to wear a hole in the floor at the rate that she was pacing. Her eyes constantly shifted between her cell phone screen, checking the time, and the door, waiting for Ethan to walk through it. She stopped and put her face in her hands, trying to bite back a sob. The image of Sam, her beautiful and strong sister, crying over her husband's bullet laden body would surely stay with her for the rest of her life and she knew that it would take weeks, perhaps months, for her screams not to haunt her. Is that what she would see when she looked into her husband's eyes? Would she see Jason's lifeless body or hear Sam's sobs as they draped the white cloth over the father of her child? She couldn't bear the thought of it. She couldn't bear the thought of hating him for what he had done but how could she not if he was responsible? How could she love a man who was capable of causing such pain?

"Kristina…"

She hadn't heard the door open but there he was, standing in front of her. She felt tears roll down her face and she saw him start to come towards her, to wipe away those tears from her cheeks as he always did, but stopped. His eyes were wide and he kept a safe distance from her and she knew that he was afraid of her reaction to him.

"Kristina, I don't even—I'm so sorry…" Ethan stammered.

"Did you do it? Did you kill Jason?" she asked.

"Of course not. Jason was your sister's husband… I would never–" he started as he drew a little bit closer to her.

"Did you order the hit then?" she asked.

"No! I had nothing to do with Jason's death, I swear, Kristina!" Ethan cried.

His hands were on her shoulders and his eyes searched hers beseechingly, like his very life depended on if she believed in his innocence or not. And so she cried, harder than she ever had before, and fell into his embrace. His arms wrapped around her frame and held her close. She had been so worried that she wouldn't or couldn't see past what had happened to Jason but all she could see when she looked at him was his beautiful face and his soulful eyes. He was the man that she loved, the man that she had married.

"I believe you…" she sobbed.

"Oh god, Kristina… I thought that you'd hate me…" he sighed, holding onto her even tighter.

"I could never hate you, Ethan… I love you… I love you so much." She whispered.

"And I love you…" he exhaled.

He tilted her chin up towards him and kissed her. It felt like a lifetime had passed since his lips last touched hers. So much had happened, so much had changed since the last time that they had been together. But she still loved him and he still loved her. Perhaps that would be enough to get through this.

"My father is sending me and my family into hiding…" she said, burying her face into his chest.

"It's for the best, Kristina. Now that Jason's gone, things are going to be a lot more dangerous in Port Charles, especially for your family." He said.

"But how am I supposed to leave you?" she cried, grasping at his shirt.

"You think I want you to go? You're my wife and I want you with me, but if anything happened to you…" he began before his voice trailed off.

"I'll be safe if I'm with you, Ethan." Kristina said.

She felt him press a kiss to her forehead and sigh heavily. She knew what she was asking was impossible and he would never allow it. He always proclaimed that he was selfish and wasn't a noble being but somehow, he always found himself doing the right thing when it came to her, even if it wasn't what he truly wanted.

"I can't risk your safety… I won't. You mean too much to me, you know that..." he said as he ran the pads of his thumbs over her cheeks and she shook her head.

"It's not forever, right?" she sobbed.

"No… and when it's safe and you come back to Port Charles, you and I are going to start our lives together… just like we planned." he said, managing to smile slightly.

His smile, the one that always caused her own, broke her and she came apart in his arms. He swept her up, holding her and allowing his own façade to shatter as well. She felt his warm tears on her cheek as he held her close. She didn't know how to do this. She didn't know how to say goodbye to him. She had just pledged to stay by his side for the rest of their lives and now she was supposed to break those vows? It would've been less painful to rip out her heart than to loosen her grasp on Ethan's shirt.

"Kristina, look at me…" he whispered.

He had carried her into the bedroom, the very same one where they had each other for the first time, and she was lying beside him. His arm was still around her and she was curled up against him. His fingertips gently lifted her chin up so that she could gaze into those beautiful brown orbs of his and then his lips were on hers.

"Be here with me… just for this moment, ok?" he whispered.

His voice was breathless and needy and his hands tugged at her dress. It was an imperfect world that they lived in. She should've still been in her perfectly pristine wedding dress with matching delicate white lace lingerie underneath and the tears in his eyes should've been tears of joy that they would never part from this moment on.

But it was not meant to be that way.

She let him undress her and she shivered as the cool breeze from the window grazed over her bare skin. He was moving much too slow. There wasn't enough time for them to savor each moment. Her guards, or even worse, her father could break down the door at any moment and tear them apart but if the world was going to crumble around her, she wanted to be in his arms.

"Ethan…" she gasped.

Her back arched as he entered her and he held her there, dipping his head so that his forehead gently rested on her chest. It was everything that they had ever felt. Passion, pain, and a whole lot of love, wrapped up into that one moment where they were joined together like that. Her fingers found their favorite place, his hair, and threaded through the black strands as he began that all consuming rhythm that they both needed so much. His warm breath brushed against her skin and he quickly grabbed a hold of her legs. She knew that he was nearing the edge of his control and she went careening over the edge, with his name on her lips.

"I should probably go…" Kristina whispered.

Their bodies were still warm from making love and she smelled like his cologne. Ethan's arms tightened around her as he buried his face into the back of her neck and she felt him shake against her, his body overcome with silent sobs. She took his hand in hers and pressed it to her lips, letting her own tears run down his slender fingers. She was sure that this pain, this unspeakable pain in her chest, was her own heart breaking. She turned around to face him, gently brushing away the wetness from his cheeks, and kissed him gently.

"I know, love… but it doesn't mean that I won't miss you every single second." Ethan breathed.

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Ethan eased onto the brake and his car slowly lurched to a stop. Working for Johnny for the past few years had taught him how to stay invisible while behind the wheel of a car. He shifted the car into park and sighed heavily, slumping back into his seat. Maybe he had a deathwish. He certainly had to have had one to marry Kristina during such a dangerous time and he clearly had one to be doing this. He looked out his window towards the small gated runway where Sonny Corinthos' jet was waiting. Guards were probably swarming the area and he was certain that he was going to get caught but he didn't care.

He had to make sure that she was alright.

A fleet of town cars suddenly pulled into the private entrance of the Port Charles Airport and he instantly knew that it was the Corinthos-Morgan clan that was arriving. Carly Corinthos was the first to emerge from one of the cars, carrying Josslyn on her hip, and Michael and Morgan Corinthos followed soon after. Molly Lansing climbed out of another car, holding her niece, Emily Morgan, while Kristina helped Sam McCall out of the car. Ethan could barely make out Sam's features but he could see the devastation that she felt over the loss of her husband in her body language. The plane roared to life as they all climbed aboard, ready to depart off into the night. He had said his goodbye to Kristina back at the safehouse but he couldn't stop that urge in the pit of his stomach to run to her and hold her one last time before she was spirited away from him.

But he had to.

He started up the engine of his car and as he brushed a tear away from his cheek that he didn't even know had fallen, he swore that he saw Kristina turn towards him. She was a vision as the wind from the propellers whipped her brown locks around her and a small smile crossed her lips, like she could see him. She ducked inside of the plane and the door closed, safely sealing her inside. It hurt to know that she was safer away from him but not for long. As soon as he could, he would march right into Sonny's office and tell him that Kristina was his now and they would be together for the rest of their lives, with or without his permission or blessing.

"Goodbye, love…" he whispered as he watched the plane disappear into the night sky.

But for now, that image of her, with the wind in her hair, would have to sustain him for now.


	3. Let Me In

**A/N**: Thank you guys for your wonderful comments! They seriously make me giddy. I'm so sorry about the delay of this chapter. I got caught up with stuff at work and life in general but voila! It's done! Happy reading and leave more comments!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 – Let Me In<strong>

Ethan had made a conscious decision to never have regrets. Life was far too short to hold onto the idea that he should have done something different and if something tugged at his heart that felt like regret, he quickly brushed it aside, saying that it was done and nothing further could be done about it. And it worked. He traveled from place to place, picking pockets and running scams to get by, and he never regretted a single thing.

But now, his mind was plagued with doubts.

Had he made the right choice? Was letting Kristina into his heart the right choice? Had marrying her been wise? Should he have fought to have her stay by his side instead of relinquishing her over to her father? He couldn't dismiss these thoughts as quickly as he could before because it wasn't just about him this time. He had to think about what was best for Kristina. He loved her too damn much to give her anything less than the best of everything.

"Ethan Lovett! Open up! This is the PCPD!"

The door of the warehouse felt like it might give under the weight of the pounding that Port Charles' finest were giving it. There was no doubt that this was about Jason's murder and for once, they were probably right in their suspicions. Someone in the Zacchara camp probably did kill Sonny's right-hand man. Ethan opened the door only to be accosted by two cops, who immediately put his hands behind his back.

"Ethan Lovett, you are under arrest for the murder of Jason Morgan." Mac Scorpio recited.

His mind was still in a haze from having to part with Kristina that he could barely remember being shoved into the back of the squad car and put through processing before being placed into the interrogation room. If only the person that he had been three years ago could see him now, about to lose his life and freedom all for the sake of a woman, he would be furious.

"Well, hello sunshine!"

That voice made Ethan grit his teeth. He looked up from his hands only to be met with the face of Anthony Zacchara. The old man pulled up a chair in front of Ethan, smirking in that way that let Ethan know that he was definitely up to something.

"Who let you out of your cage, Anthony?" Ethan spat.

"Now is that any way to greet the man who is putting up money for your bail?" Anthony asked and Ethan snorted. Anything that Anthony offered would definitely have strings attached. Huge strings.

"Thanks but no thanks. I've gotten out of worse scrapes than this." Ethan said.

"Have you now? Because from what I hear, the cops have some pretty damning evidence against you, kid." Anthony all but snickered.

"What do you know, old man?" Ethan hissed.

Anthony sat back in his chair, smirking. The guy knew something. There was no doubt about it. He was practically bursting with giddiness at the sight of Ethan locked up like this, like maybe he planned this entire thing to begin with.

"Fingerprints on the gun that shot Morgan match yours." Anthony said.

Had Ethan not been handcuffed to the table, he would've grabbed the man smugly sitting across from him by the neck. Anthony just snickered and sat back in his chair triumphantly.

"Why? What do you get out of all this?" Ethan roared.

"You need me to spell it out for you? Wow, you really aren't that bright, are you?" Anthony sneered.

"Out with it!" Ethan demanded.

"What do I get out of this whole thing? Everything. I get everything that I've always wanted. You see, Sonny will come after you for offing his enforcer and that will be just the push that Johnny needs in order to finally get rid of Corinthos. The murder of the best friend tends to do that to people." Anthony proclaimed.

"You son of a bitch!" Ethan screamed.

The handcuffs did their job and held him in place, keeping him from pummeling the old man's face into the table. He had always known that Anthony Zacchara was a sick and twisted human being, even when he was in his right mind, but he never thought that he would be this ruthless, especially to someone that had proven his loyalty to Johnny and the organization as a whole.

"Seriously, Lovett… you made it so ridiculously easy… panting after Kristina Davis made you sloppy." Anthony said, lowering his voice.

"Don't you ever mention her again, do you understand me?" Ethan hissed.

"For someone who used to make a living off cheating people in cards, you really don't have a good poker face." Anthony quipped.

"You don't know what you're talking about old man… Kristina and I are over. Everybody knows that." Ethan said.

He held his breath slightly, hoping that the lie would deflect the old man's attention off his wife. Saying those words, pretending like he didn't care, almost made him sick to his stomach but he had to lie. There was no other way for him to protect her if he didn't. Anthony, however, just rose to his feet and grinned.

"You must really think that I'm some doddering old fool. Anyone with eyes can see that you still love that girl. It's written all over your stupid face and you're a fool if you think that you can protect her." Anthony said.

"You touch her and I swear to god, I will kill you myself." Ethan growled.

His threat seemed to fall onto deaf ears as Anthony made his way to the door of the interrogation room. Some would've called him crazy for threatening a man as ruthless and possibly psychotic as Anthony Zacchara but this was his wife he was talking about. He wouldn't get away with threatening his very meaning for existence. That crossed a line.

"Good. I like a challenge." Anthony chuckled.

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><p>One of the first questions that Kristina was always asked by other people besides the obvious ones about her father's line of work was about the private island that he owned. Was it beautiful? Did she really have access to a yacht? Was the staff really told to do whatever she wanted?<p>

And all of the answers to those questions were yes.

However, jetting off to the island wasn't as glamorous as it seemed from the outside. No one else knew that the island was where their family sought refuge when things in Port Charles became too dangerous. The seclusion of the island prevented Sonny's enemies from having access, the yachts came with bulletproof glass and had to be checked for bombs before she was even allowed to go down to the docks, and the staff were only at her beck and call to keep her from leaving the villa.

The island was her own private prison.

"Krissy? Are you ok?"

She looked up to find Morgan standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She smiled weakly at her younger brother and nodded. He ambled over towards the bed and flopped down next to her.

"You don't look ok." Morgan remarked.

"I'm fine." Kristina sighed.

"You're a horrible liar… worse than Molly." he chuckled.

He was trying his hardest to get her to smile and she did only to appease him even though she felt like bursting into tears. Everything had just been a blur. Had she really married Ethan? Had they really made those promises to love and honor each other for the rest of their lives? It seemed like a completely different life.

"I just wish that for once we could come to the island when dad isn't in the middle of a mob war…" she mused.

"Yeah, it does kinda suck but at least here we can all be together. That's the most important thing, especially now…" he said, his voice growing softer.

Now she felt horrible. She was wallowing in her own self-pity when her own sister had just lost the love of her life. She knew that she would be absolutely beside herself if she lost Ethan like the way Sam lost Jason.

"How is Sam?" she asked.

"Michael and Molly took Emily down to the beach so that Sam could get some sleep. I was just about to go down there too… do you wanna come?" Morgan asked.

She opened her mouth to agree when her phone began to ring. The number was unfamiliar to her but it was a Port Charles area code and that's when her heart froze. She had been cut off from the outside world for way too long. It had almost been two weeks since her family's exodus from her hometown. She was desperate for any news from back home.

"You go ahead, Morgan… I'll catch up with you guys in a bit…" she said.

As soon as her younger brother left the room, she dove for her phone, pressing it up to her ear and silently praying to god to hear her husband's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" she asked, clutching her phone with anticipation.

"Hi baby…" Ethan breathed.

She shut her eyes, forcing the tears of joy from spilling down her face. She would have to remind herself to now go to mass with her father every week because god had answered her prayers right then.

"You have no idea how much I've missed hearing you call me that…" she sobbed.

"And you don't know how much I've missed you, Kristina…" he sighed.

"Are you ok? Is everything alright there?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine… I just—I just miss you…" he choked out.

She knew her husband. She knew him almost better than he knew himself and he was not fine. He had always known how to keep it together, keeping a good poker face, but the man on the other side of this call was barely hanging on. His voice trembled as he spoke and she could practically feel his shot nerves through the phone. Something happened. Something bad.

"You're not fine, Ethan… tell me what's going on." Kristina whispered as she moved away from the door.

"Kristina," he warned, trying to get her to drop the subject but she wasn't having it.

"Then I'm coming home…" she said.

"Absolutely not! You need to stay right where you are. It's way too dangerous for you in Port Charles…" he insisted.

"I don't like hearing you like this… you're scared and that has me scared…" she wailed.

"I'm sorry. The last thing that I want to do is scare you, love… it's just—I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you, ok?" he said.

She could picture him, pacing in his apartment, anxiously running his free hand through his hair. All she wanted to do was to wrap her arms around him and take away all of his worry. He needed her as much as she needed him; she just knew it. Things just made sense when they were together.

"You know that goes both ways, Ethan… I can't lose you…" she cried.

"You won't... do you hear me? When this all this is over, I'm going to walk right up to your father and tell him that you're mine. I'm gonna tell him that you're my wife and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making you happy." Ethan maintained.

Kristina covered her mouth, stifling a hard sob that erupted from her chest. She didn't know how much she needed to hear that from him until that moment. She needed to be reminded of why she was going through this excruciating pain. Because if she was able to spend the rest of her life with this man, this man who loved her like this, everything that was going on was worth it.

"I love you so much…" she sobbed.

"And I love you…" he whispered.

It took her a few moments after he ended the call to compose herself and emerge from her bedroom. Perhaps she would join everybody down at the beach. She could've definitely used the distraction and playing with little Emily was always her favorite one.

"Wait, Ethan's been arrested for Jason's murder?"

Carly's voice stopped Kristina in her tracks. She and Sam were in the living room, trying hard to talk in hushed voices. Her sister, eyes still wet from her non-stop tears, nodded in affirmation.

"What?" Kristina cried.

The two women quickly directed their attention towards her and they both grimaced. Of course it was no secret in Port Charles that Kristina and Ethan shared a past. However, it was still a secret that the relationship had never exactly ended.

"Oh god, Kristina… I'm sorry that you had to hear that." Carly apologized.

"There has to be some mistake! Ethan would never—he couldn't have killed Jason!" Kristina shouted.

"Look, I know that you care about him, Krissy… but his fingerprints were on the gun and he's Johnny's right-hand man…" Sam explained but Kristina just shook her head.

"He promised me, Sam… Ethan looked me straight in the eye and told me that he had nothing to do with Jason's death. He wouldn't—he wouldn't lie to me." Kristina sobbed.

"Wait, you saw Ethan? God, do you know how dangerous that is? What if Sonny had caught you?" Carly cried.

Of course she knew that it was dangerous. She and Ethan understood the perils of taking that next step in their relationship but she had decided a long time ago that he was worth all of the risk and he thought the same about her. It was that certainty that kept her sane, giving her hope that one day she would be able to wake up in Ethan's arms without worrying about who was right outside their window.

"I know… and I'm sorry… I know that both of you are going through hell… Carly, you lost your best friend and Sam, you lost the love of your life and the father of your daughter. I just—I know Ethan… and he would never do anything to hurt my family." Kristina insisted.

She knew that Carly and Sam didn't believe her. They had both loved Jason and wanted someone to blame for why he was no longer in their lives. She understood that because she loved Ethan just as much and needed to believe that when her husband had told her that he had nothing to do with her brother-in-law's death that he was telling the truth. She quickly ducked back into her bedroom and threw together some items into one of her tote bags. She had to get out of here. She had to help him. Thinking of him sitting in lockup made her sick with worry. Surely he was safer in police custody rather than being out on the streets where one of her father's employees could take him out but she still had to get to him. He shouldn't have to face this situation alone.

She wouldn't let him.

Ethan would be upset. He told he specifically to stay put but how could she when he was in such trouble? He needed her and she needed him. Everything would just fall into place. She was sure of it. She managed to launch herself out of her window without making a huge ruckus. She could make it to the nearby town on foot and then catch a taxi to the airport from there. She had enough cash on her to purchase a plane ticket without using a credit card, as to tip off her parents of her whereabouts.

"Sneaking out of your bedroom window… wow, you really made this too easy."

She had never had that much interaction with Anthony Zacchara. Her father made sure of that and what little she did have always managed to leave her uneasy. A sinister grin spread across his face as two of his thugs came up from behind and covered her mouth before she could make a sound.


	4. The End of Everything

**A/N**: Yikes! This chapter is super late, I know, but I've just been swamped over here with my new job and everything. However, it's done! After this, I'm thinking that there's going to be one more chapter. I may do an additional (very short) epilogue depending on my creative juices so stay tuned. Anyway, happy reading and leave a comment! *shameless plug* :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 – The End of Everything<strong>

"Lovett!"

Ethan took his face out of his hands and found his gaze met with that of Ronnie Dimestico. He never really liked Ronnie because of his self-righteous attitude and disdain towards everyone who wasn't a member of the PCPD but he wasn't in the mood to argue with the cop right now. He had more important things on his mind, like how he was going to protect his wife from Anthony Zacchara while locked up.

"You called?" Ethan drawled.

"Your bail's been set…" Ronnie said, opening up his cell.

"You can tell the old man that I don't want or need his money." Ethan spat.

It was a risk, of course, to not take Anthony's money for bail but he had no desire to be in debt to the man. Lord only knew that if he had accepted, his freedom would come at a steep price. There were already so many obstacles that were keeping him and Kristina apart before this war reached its boiling point and he certainly didn't need another one thrown into the mix.

"Ouch… I'm not **that** much older than you, Ethan."

Ethan looked up and saw Johnny standing before him. Johnny smiled and held out a hand to his friend, which he took gladly, letting out a sigh of relief. The two friends embraced warmly before leaving the station. Of course this wasn't the end of his troubles but at least he was out of lockup.

"Listen, Johnny… I need to talk to you about something… something important." Ethan said as they walked along the docks.

"What is it?" Johnny asked.

"I think that your father is going after Kristina." Ethan said.

"Ethan… come on, I know that you care about Kristina but it makes no sense that my father would take her. He's already taken out Jason… the next logical step would just to go straight in for the kill." Johnny explained.

"Then tell me why I'm being framed for Jason's murder? Your father wants Sonny to come after me so that you'll finally have the motivation to get rid of him!" Ethan hissed.

"How do you know all of this?" Johnny asked.

"Because he told me when he offered to pay my bail!" Ethan roared.

"That does sound like him…" Johnny muttered.

"Look, I don't care about what happens to me, ok? He threatened Kristina… he told me that I was stupid to think that I could protect her." Ethan said.

"I get that you still love her, Ethan… believe me, I get it… but Kristina is not your problem anymore! She has guards and her family to look out for her. You need to look out for yourself! You have to let her go!" Johnny insisted.

"I can't!" Ethan shouted.

"Well, why the hell not?" Johnny asked.

"Because she's my wife, Johnny!" Ethan cried.

Johnny stopped and just stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds, as if he was letting the words permeate in his mind. They had just reached the lobby of Ethan's apartment building. This wasn't how Ethan wanted Johnny to find out about him and Kristina but he had to know why he couldn't give this up. He had made a vow to protect her until the day he died and he was going to honor that.

"You married Kristina? When?" Johnny asked, roughly pulling him into the elevator.

"The night that Jason died… we drove up to a justice of the peace thirty miles outside of town and got married… and when we got back to town and I dropped her off, that's when she found him." Ethan said, quietly.

"We talked about this, right after Brenda died… you agreed with me that it wasn't safe for you two to be together." Johnny said, his voice clearly indicating a need for an explanation.

"I know… and I tried. I tried to stay away from her but I couldn't…" Ethan lamented.

"I can't believe this…" Johnny muttered.

"Look, haven't you ever loved somebody so much that you felt like you couldn't breathe if they weren't right there beside you? Because that's what Kristina is to me, Johnny. She is everything. I can't—I can't give that up." Ethan explained.

They were now standing in the hallway of his apartment and Johnny, with his hand on the doorknob, paused at Ethan's words. The far away wistful look in Johnny's eye did not escape Ethan. Of course Johnny knew exactly what he was talking about. He slowly turned around to face his lieutenant and gave him a look of understanding.

"Of course I know how that feels… don't you think I don't miss Lulu every single day? But I loved her enough to not want her in this life! I didn't want her to go through what Sam is going through right now!" Johnny maintained.

"Maybe you're just a better man that I am then… because I can't live without Kristina." Ethan sighed.

Johnny opened the door and stepped aside so that Ethan could walk through. No sooner than three steps in did Ethan notice the menacing presence of Sonny Corinthos, sitting in a chair facing the door, with a sleek silver gun pointed right at the two of them. Johnny, immediately going on the defensive, pulled out his own piece and pointed it right back at Sonny.

"So little Zacchara is packing now… cute." Sonny sneered.

"I'm not that little kid that you used to push around anymore, Sonny. What do you want?" Johnny snarled.

"Well, I want to splatter both of your brains out on this tacky carpet for what you did to Jason but you two are probably the only people who know where my daughter is." Sonny said.

"What're you talking about?" Johnny asked.

"Don't play dumb with me! You have Kristina and I wanna know where she is!" Sonny roared.

Ethan felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach at Sonny's words and he stepped in front of Johnny's gun, right into Sonny's line of fire. Sonny gave Ethan a look of incredulity, like he couldn't believe that Ethan had the audacity to approach him, unarmed, but he didn't care. Surely, Ethan had heard Sonny wrong.

"Kristina is missing?" Ethan choked out.

"If you play dumb, you're gonna die dumb! Now tell me where my daughter is!" Sonny yelled.

"We don't have Kristina, Sonny! I don't use kids and women to get at my enemies!" Johnny shouted back.

"You know that we would never do anything to hurt Kristina!" Ethan added.

Of course Sonny had never liked Ethan and that wasn't likely to change but surely he had to know that neither him nor Johnny would do anything to hurt Kristina. She was so pure and innocent but strong at the same time. He could never do anything but love and protect her from the world. Sonny opened his mouth, as if he was about to retort when his phone began to ring. Without taking his gaze off the two of them and without lowering his gun, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. The faint voice of the person on the other line could be heard but Ethan couldn't make out the words.

"I'll be there as soon as possible." Sonny said into his phone before hanging up.

"You have a lead?" Ethan asked anxiously.

"A yacht matching the description of a yacht that was spotted leaving my island soon after Kristina was discovered to be missing has been seen near the harbor." Sonny snapped.

He quickly made his way out the door and both Johnny and Ethan were right behind him. Despite everything, Sonny didn't stop the two of them from following. Perhaps deep down he knew that even though they were on opposite sides of this conflict, that they would never do anything to hurt Kristina.

Kristina.

It felt like forever since he'd heard the sweet sound of her voice and now he wasn't sure if he was ever going to be able to hear her ever again. Johnny's hand on Ethan's shoulder brought him out of his distressing thoughts.

"Don't worry, we're gonna find her." Johnny said.

"I hope so." Ethan sighed.

* * *

><p>Screaming was no use.<p>

No one on this yacht was going to help Kristina. They were all on Anthony Zacchara's payroll and she was all alone. She turned away from the window, seeing the Port Charles skyline and harbor faintly in the distance, and sunk down to the floor. She curled up into herself, hiding her tears from the world. How could she be so careless? She let her emotions get the best of her and now she was surely going to pay for it. Of course she wasn't scared for herself. She wasn't scared to die. She was scared about what her death would do to her husband.

"Good morning, sunshine!"

Kristina looked up to see Anthony standing in the doorway and she scooted backwards, letting her back press against the wall. There was nowhere to run. She was completely at his mercy.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"I don't want anything from you actually… you're what we call a means to an end. Do you know what that means?" Anthony asked.

"Of course I know what that means… I'm not stupid." Kristina growled.

"Well, you could've fooled me… trying to sneak away from your guards isn't a smart move…" he cackled.

Of course she knew that it wasn't her finest hour but what was she supposed to do? Ethan needed her. She could barely stand to think about him in lockup, scared and alone. He needed her to put her arms around him and tell him that she loved him and that she would stand by him no matter what.

"You know that there are people looking for me…" she said, never taking her eyes off her captor.

"Oh, I'm counting on it…" he said as a sinister grin spread across his lips.

The look in Anthony's eyes was enough to make her blood run cold. He then pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and began punching in numbers, all the while never letting the grim smile on his face falter.

"In fact… I'm going to let you talk to someone who's probably looking for you." Anthony added, handing her the phone.

Kristina looked at the phone, unsure if she should take it. She didn't like the idea of playing Anthony's mind games, especially when it involved people that she loved, but if she could just let someone know that she was still alright, instead of fearing the worst, then it might've been worth it.

"Hello? Hello?"

Upon hearing the voice on the other side of the line, she lunged for the phone, practically shoving Anthony to the side. She could barely hold it together as she clutched the phone to her ear, tears streaming down her face.

"Ethan? Ethan is that you?" she sobbed.

"Oh my god, Kristina… are you ok? Where are you?" Ethan asked and Kristina looked to her captor, wondering what she was allowed to say.

"Tell him that you're fine." Anthony said.

"I'm fine, Ethan…" she reiterated, her voice shaking.

"You're not fine, I can tell, Kristina. Tell me where you are, baby… I'm gonna come and get you." Ethan said.

"You're fine. You don't know where you are." Anthony said, his voice growing more ominous.

"I'm fine, Ethan… I—I promise." Kristina stammered.

"Kristina, who has you? Is it Anthony?" Ethan asked.

Kristina looked back at Anthony, who stood tall over her, anticipating the next word that came out of her mouth. This was the moment of truth. Could she risk her safety on the chance that Ethan could come to get her?

"Yes…" she breathed and in that moment, Anthony quickly snatched the phone away from her.

"Come to the harbor, Ethan!" she screamed.

He hung up the phone and immediately pulled a gun out of his back pocket, pointing it straight at her. She had to have faith that Ethan would come for her. He had never let her down before and she didn't think that he was capable of doing so now.

He would always come for her.

"That… was the last mistake you'll ever make." Anthony growled.

"Or what? What are you gonna do?" she snapped.

"Or you're gonna end up like Jason…" he spat.

Kristina's eyes widened upon his confession. This man, this monster, was the reason why her sister cried herself to sleep every night. This man was the reason why her niece was never going to know her father. This man was the reason why her father's sanity was as thin as a fraying thread.

"You killed Jason." Kristina gasped and Anthony just laughed.

"Wow, we're not as dumb as we look…" he cackled.

"But why? What do you get out of this?" she asked.

His hand dove back into his pocket and pulled out a slim black device. It obviously wasn't another cell phone since it only had one button. He twirled it around in his fingertips, smiling as he did it.

"There's one thing that you should know about me, Kristina… I'm always looking to the future and having control of Port Charles has always been a part of the plan. And when all is said and done, John and I will be the only ones standing." Anthony said.

* * *

><p>"Ethan… Ethan! Listen to me… Kristina is going to be ok… you heard her on the phone and she sounded fine, right?"<p>

Johnny's words just washed over Ethan as he stared off into the distance. The buildings and warehouses by the docks seemed to pass by in a blur. All he could think about was that psychopath that was holding his wife hostage. Johnny was going to have to hold him back if he got his hands on Anthony because Ethan was sure that he was going to kill him for touching Kristina.

"If anything happens to her…" Ethan muttered.

"Kristina is fine. We're going to get her and she will be fine." Johnny reiterated.

Of course Ethan knew that Johnny was just trying to keep him calm but he had to know what his father was capable of. He had to know that there was a good chance that Kristina was not fine. Ethan just closed his eyes and took deep breaths as the car sped in the direction of the harbor. He had to hold it together, for Kristina's sake.

Anything for Kristina.

Johnny had barely brought the car to a stop before Ethan jumped out and raced to the docks. Sonny's limo was parked nearby, indicating that he had beaten the two of them to the site, and surely enough, Sonny was at the docks, speaking to one of his associates. In the distance was a pristine white yacht, docked off the coast, and even from a distance, Ethan recognized it.

"That's my father's yacht… I'd know it anywhere." Johnny said, taking the words right out of Ethan's mouth, as he joined the two of them on the docks.

"Are you even sure that Kristina's on the yacht?" Sonny snapped.

"Kristina called. She said that Anthony had her and she was near the harbor… I think that it's safe to assume that she's on the yacht." Johnny said.

"Look, can we stop wasting time and get over there?" Ethan cried.

He could care less about the distrust between Sonny and Johnny. All he could think about was getting to Kristina as soon as humanly possible. He hated the idea of her being away from him and the thought of her being held against her will made him sick to his stomach with worry. However, no sooner than the words left his mouth, a huge blast shook them all from their squabbling. The three of them looked towards the water, where the noise had come from, only to see the yacht had exploded right before their very eyes.


	5. Somewhere Only We Know

**A/N**: Hi everybody! I apologize for the supreme tardiness of this chapter but it's finally done! Whew! Well, this will be the last chapter of this story. *sadsies* I know that I said that I might to an epilogue but as I was writing this, I realized that it didn't need one. That being said, thank you so much for taking this Ethan/Kristina journey with me! It actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would and I'm really glad that you guys have enjoyed it too! Happy reading!

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><p><strong>Chapter 5 – Somewhere Only We Know<strong>

There's a moment.

A moment where something so inexplicably horrible happens that everything around it just seems to slow down and go on forever, like the universe is getting some sick sense of enjoyment out of prolonging your suffering.

"Ethan! Ethan!"

Ethan hadn't even noticed that he had been screaming until he felt Johnny's hands come to his arms and attempted to shake him out of his horrified trance. The remnants of the yacht were still on fire, burning and twisting in a sickening pool of orange and yellow in the harbor, slowly consuming everything that he had held dear.

He had failed her.

She was now probably lying at the bottom of the harbor because he couldn't protect her.

"Ethan! Ethan, look at me!" Johnny yelled.

Johnny grabbed Ethan's face and forced him to look away from the mangled heap in the water and into his eyes.

"She's dead…" Ethan sobbed.

"No… no, she's not… we don't know that, Ethan." Johnny said but the ever so slight crack in his voice said that he believed otherwise.

"Do you see the yacht, Johnny? Look at it!" Ethan screamed, pointing out towards the black water.

Johnny did as his friend had commanded and looked out at the wreckage. He didn't have to say anything because anyone with eyes could see that it would've been a miracle if anyone survived an explosion like that. However, Johnny shook his head and grasped his friend by the shoulders.

"We don't even know for certain if Kristina was on the yacht, Ethan… but the Coast Guard is here now and we're going to check every inch of the harbor, ok?" Johnny maintained.

All Ethan could do was nod feebly as he joined Sonny and Johnny in the small search boat. His eyes never blinked as they sped towards the dismembered yacht. How did he let things come to this? How could he let this happen? His wife… his beautiful wife, who had everything in the world to look forward to, was now probably lost to him forever. A part of him wanted to just lean over the side of the boat, going head first into the water to join her, but Johnny's arm was firmly around his shoulder, as if he knew that was his first inclination.

"Wait! I think I see something!"

The voice of the coast guard officer pierced through his grief-laden fog and Ethan turned towards where the guy was pointing. Not too far off, there was a huge chunk of what seemed to be the remnants of the deck, and there was something on top of it.

Someone on top of it.

"Kristina!" Sonny yelled.

The boat swerved around the piece of the wreckage and Ethan immediately leaned over and let out a hard sob. There she was, lying so still with her eyes closed as if she were peacefully sleeping. The coast guard officer and Ethan both pulled the yacht fragment towards the boat while Sonny grabbed his daughter. Aside from the few nicks across her forehead and cheek where the explosion had caught her, she looked absolutely perfect.

"Kristina? Honey, wake up… wake up for me…" Sonny begged as he gently prodded her.

But she didn't. Her eyelashes serenely stayed put on her cheek as her father tried to rouse her. Cold fear crept up and seized Ethan's heart as he watched her. Had they been too late? He pressed two fingers to her neck and after what seemed like forever, he felt a beat. It was faint but it was there.

"She has a pulse! She's still alive!" Ethan cried as he grasped his wife's slender hand.

Her small digits fit perfectly in the palm of his hand, like it did on the day that they got married. That day seemed so long ago now that they were sitting there, surrounded by the remnants of the wreckage. Sonny immediately noticed Ethan's hand on his daughter's and quickly shoved him away from Kristina. The boat rocked violently and Sonny's eyes were like daggers, seething with rage and hate.

"Get away from my daughter!" Sonny roared as he cradled Kristina closer to him.

"Sonny! You know that Ethan would never do anything to hurt Kristina… in fact, you probably wouldn't have known that Kristina was out here if it weren't for him!" Johnny cried.

Johnny's protestations seemed to have little effect on Sonny's concerned father routine and he cradled his daughter close to him, not willing to even let Ethan get anywhere near her. Ethan felt Johnny's hands hold him back to keep him from fighting with Sonny.

"We have to get her to a hospital as soon as possible… she's at high risk for hypothermia…" the coast guard officer said.

The ride over to General Hospital passed by in a blur. Sonny, of course, wouldn't let Ethan ride with Kristina in the ambulance so Johnny agreed to take him. He could barely take his eyes off of the ambulance in front of the car, thinking that this was all his fault, thinking that there had to have been something that he could've done to protect her. He should've taken her away right after they got married. He should've never let her out of his sight and because of his carelessness, he could've lost her forever.

"What do we have?" Dr. Matt Hunter said as Kristina's stretcher was wheeled into the ER.

"Yacht explosion. She was pulled out of the water. She has a steady pulse but we think that she might be at risk for hypothermia." The paramedic said.

"Ok, take her into unit two." Matt said, directing the paramedic towards the vacant unit.

Just as Kristina was being wheeled away, Alexis came charging in, escorted by Mac Scorpio. She looked frantic, as she usually did, and zeroed in on Sonny and Matt Hunter. The young doctor then turned to some of his nurses and began dishing out orders.

"Let's start her on some warmers so that we can bring that temp up. Also, page Patrick Drake for a consult. I just want to make sure that we're not dealing with any brain trauma." Matt said.

"How could you let this happen, Sonny?" Alexis shrieked.

"I didn't let her do anything! I had guards all over the island. The kids didn't go anywhere without having a guard. Kristina must've snuck out and then that's when she was grabbed." Sonny explained.

"But if you were a normal father with a normal and legal nine-to-five job, our daughter wouldn't have been in the position to be grabbed and therefore almost blown up!" Alexis cried.

Alexis and Sonny continued their squabbling as Ethan drew closer to Kristina's room, watching as the nurses tended to her. The color hadn't returned to her cheeks just yet and her eyes were still closed. Ethan put his hand against the cool glass of the window and exhaled slowly, letting the glass frost over slightly. As soon as he felt his other hand fall to the doorknob, he felt Sonny's hand come to his arm.

"You're not going in there." Sonny barked.

"She needs me, Sonny." Ethan maintained.

"Like hell she does… she needs her family." Sonny growled.

"I **am** her family." Ethan bit back.

"You're nothing." Sonny sneered.

Ethan felt his hand curl up into a fist at Sonny's comment. The fact that Sonny had the audacity to tell Ethan to his face that he meant nothing to Kristina was infuriating. His words couldn't be further from the truth. Ethan meant everything to her like she meant everything to him. She was his family. She was his entire existence.

"She's my wife, Sonny." Ethan said.

The older mobster seemed to be floored by the young man's words. The great Sonny Corinthos… silenced by the news that his daughter, his baby girl, was married. But Sonny, true to his character, didn't stay paralyzed for long and that's when Ethan felt Sonny's fist connect with his jaw, sending him to the floor.

"Sonny!" Alexis cried.

"You think that you can lie to my face just so you can get access to my daughter? You're crazy!" Sonny yelled as Mac did his best to restrain him.

"You can kick me, hit me, punch me… you can even send your hired guns to come after me, Sonny… it still won't change the fact that Kristina and I got married! You can't keep her from me!" Ethan cried.

"The hell I can't!" Sonny shrieked.

"Please, Sonny… she needs me. You have to let me see her!" Ethan begged.

Ethan rose to his feet, standing in front of his father-in-law beseechingly. Of course it wasn't a part of his plan to let Kristina's family know about their marriage but secrecy wasn't in his best interest. Every minute he spent arguing with Sonny was a minute that he wasn't by his wife's side, holding her hand and begging her to come back to him. The last thing that he wanted was for Kristina to wake up alone or surrounded by strangers. He wanted to be the one by her side when she opened those big beautiful brown eyes of hers that he loved.

"I don't have to do anything! And what makes you think that I believe you?" Sonny asked.

Ethan was at a loss. Of course he didn't walk around with the marriage license in his pocket and he had yet to get wedding bands for the two of them since they had gotten married as a spur of the moment decision. At that moment, however, a nurse emerged from Kristina's room, carrying a bag.

"I have Miss Davis' personal belongings." The nurse said, handing the bag to Sonny.

Sonny rifled through the bag, through the clothes that she was wearing when she was brought in when he stopped and his brow furrowed. Apparently, he had found something out of the ordinary. Sonny slowly pulled his hand out and in his trembling fingertips was a ring.

Kristina's engagement ring.

"Oh my god…" Alexis breathed.

Ethan found his eyes welling up with tears when his eyes fell to the ring that he had bought for Kristina. He remembered carrying it around in his pocket for weeks, waiting for the right moment to ask her to be his forever. He knew the weight, the shape of it and even the feel of it between his fingertips.

"Can I see her now?" Ethan asked, wiping his eyes.

"I suppose I can't stop you, can I?" Sonny asked quietly.

Ethan shook his head. Nothing could ever stop him from getting to her. He promised that he would come for her, no matter what, and he intended to keep his promise. Sonny stepped aside, letting Ethan have access to Kristina's room, but Ethan stopped before he went in.

"Can I have the ring? I'd like to be the one to put it back on her finger." Ethan said.

Sonny obliged and returned the piece of jewelry before Ethan entered the room. Only the steady beeping of Kristina's heart monitor filled his ears. The nurses, sensing that the young man wanted to be alone, made a quick exit. He immediately came to her bedside, grasping her hand and kissing it fiercely.

"Kristina? Baby, can you hear me?" he whispered.

His hand came to her cheek, gently stroking it. He could spend the rest of his life studying the soft contours of her face as she slept but right now all he wanted to see were those eyes that he loved so much to open. He leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on her lips, hoping that he could wake her like the princess that she was to him but to no avail.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you… this is all my fault. If only I had done more to protect you…" he whispered.

He looked down at their interlaced fingers and tried hard to keep his composure but there was only so much that he could take. Kristina was his one weakness. If she ever left him, either by breaking up with him or by dying, he wouldn't know what to do. At that moment, he felt the weight of her ring in the palm of his hand and he slipped it back onto hers, where it would presumably stay for the rest of her life.

"Please come back to me, Kristina… god knows how much I need you and how much I love you… please—please come back." Ethan sobbed.

Her features remained still, unmoved by his impassioned plea, and he put his forehead on the top of her hand and cried harder than he ever had before. This couldn't be how their story ended.

It couldn't be.

But then he felt something encircle around his hand. He rose, staring at his hand, and he saw Kristina's hand slowly tighten around his. From there, he looked up, cupping her face in his hands, searching her features for any change.

"Kristina?" he croaked.

And there they were, those beautiful brown eyes, fluttering open and staring right back at him. They were tired and weary but they were hers. He would know them anywhere.

"Baby?" she rasped.

The sound barely passed over Kristina's lips before Ethan pressed his lips to hers. He could feel her fingertips on his cheeks, gently wiping away the tears of overwhelming joy that were rolling down his face. Never in his life could he recall a sweeter sound. It was better than music. He let out the longest sigh of relief and held her close, silently vowing to never let her go ever again.

"Welcome back, my love…" he whispered.

* * *

><p>For her weeklong stay at General Hospital, Kristina could only recall a cumulative hour in which Ethan was not holding her hand. He never strayed too far away from her bedside and when she left for tests, he was waiting for her when she returned. After dozing off for a nap after her tests, she woke to find Ethan sitting beside her, staring lovingly into her features.<p>

"You look tired." Kristina said as she gently ran her fingers through her husband's hair.

"And you look beautiful." Ethan said as a small smile spread across his face.

She chuckled slightly and grasped his hand tighter. She knew, right from the start, that she had picked the right man. After spending too much time trying to bend to other people's wills in order to receive their love, being with Ethan almost seemed like it was too easy, like she wasn't meant to be this happy but it was only easy because it was right.

They were right for each other.

"You're such a good liar that I almost believe you…" she laughed.

"It's not a lie… it's the truth. You look as beautiful as you always do…" he said, now taking his turn to thread his fingertips through her hair.

"Even so… you still look tired. You should go home and get some sleep…" she sighed.

"I told you... I'm not going anywhere until you're able to come with me." Ethan said.

"Yeah, I know but–" she started.

"And besides, I can catch up on sleep on the seventeen hour flight to Sydney…" he inserted.

Kristina grew silent at her husband's words. Her parents still didn't know that she was thinking about going to Australia for an entire semester with Ethan. He was the one that suggested it, to get away from all of the craziness and be somewhere completely different. Johnny, who had also been by to check in on her, offered to let them take the Zacchara jet and everything. All she had to do was say the word.

"I still don't know, Ethan. I feel like it's not the right time. My brothers and sisters just got back from the island and I don't think that I should leave, especially now since Jason's not here to help out with Sam and the baby…" she said as she looked down at her hands.

"Sam and Molly were here yesterday and they both said that we should go." Ethan said.

"I know… I just feel guilty for leaving." Kristina sighed.

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. He hadn't shaved in the week since she had been brought in so his stubble tickled her skin ever so gently and she smiled. He was always so tender with her, like if she were a china doll that would break in his hands if he held onto her too tightly.

"Besides, I still owe you a honeymoon…" he whispered with the sound of his voice sending a chill down her spine.

"Yes, you do…" she said, squeezing his hand slightly.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips right as the door opened, revealing her mother and father. Alexis gasped and Sonny cleared his throat uncomfortably, making the young couple just laugh. Ethan pulled away from her and moved over to the chair beside her, never letting go of her hand.

"We can—we can come back…" Alexis stammered.

"No, it's ok… we actually needed to talk to you about something anyway." Kristina said.

"Oh really? What about?" Sonny asked.

"Ethan and I have decided that we're going to Australia for a semester." Kristina blurted out.

Kristina winced, waiting for the irate blow up from her father and an overzealous hyperventilation fit from her mother, but it never came. Instead, Alexis just looked at Sonny and let out a long sigh.

"If that's what you want…" Alexis began.

"All I want is for our lives to go back to normal… and to spend some much needed time with this guy right here." Kristina said as she put her head on Ethan's shoulder.

Ethan smiled and put his hand on hers while Sonny bristled at the closeness between the two of them. However, the aging mobster managed to keep himself under control. Kristina couldn't help but to smile at her father's uneasiness. He would always think of her as his little girl, even if she was happily married.

"Well, I think that with everything that's gone down, Ethan has clearly proved that he cares about you…" Sonny said.

The begrudging tone in his voice was slowly diminishing, as if Sonny was finally coming around to the idea that Ethan was no longer the enemy that he had feared would destroy their family. Of course, her father would probably never do father-son type of things with Ethan, and she would never expect him to, but maybe she could bring him to Thanksgiving dinner without having the whole night erupt into disaster.

"Speaking of that… did the police catch Anthony?" Kristina asked.

Sonny and Ethan exchanged a look, like they knew something she clearly didn't. Alexis quickly took that cue to excuse herself from the room, claiming that she had to check in on Sam and Molly. As soon as the door closed behind her, Ethan grasped Kristina's hand tighter.

"Anthony's gone, Kristina." Ethan said.

"What happened? Did he get caught in the explosion?" she asked.

She looked to her father for an answer but all he could do was shake his head as he drew closer to her bedside. A cold fear took a hold of her heart, thinking that Anthony could still be out there to terrorize her and her family.

"No… but you're never going to have to worry about Anthony again." Ethan said.

"I don't understand…" Kristina said.

"After what he did to you… he had to be taken care of." Sonny said, firmly.

Kristina held a breath that she didn't even know that she was holding. Of course she wasn't the type to wish anyone dead or anything but it was a relief that she could just focus on her new life with Ethan. Sonny left soon after, saying that he had to meet with Max and Milo, and Kristina immediately turned to her husband.

"Why didn't you tell me about Anthony? Does Johnny know?" she asked.

"Johnny knows and he agrees with us because what he did to you was not ok. It'll take him some time to adjust with taking over the organization and dealing with the fact that his father is gone but he'll be ok. I just—I just didn't want to stress you out while you were recovering." Ethan said.

"But what does that mean for us?" she asked.

Kristina's hand found its way to his cheek and he caught her hand in his and kissed the inside of her palm. She didn't know what she would do if she couldn't be with him. Just that time that they had been without each other was the most heart-wrenching experiences of her life. She couldn't go through that again.

"It means that you'll never have to worry about another thing ever again… because I'm always going to be here…" he said.

* * *

><p>She was a vision in white.<p>

She always had been.

The dress that she wore was longer, a maxi dress that hid the nicks and bruises on her legs from the explosion, but hung on her body with an ease that just enhanced her natural beauty. Her head gently rested on his shoulder as she slept and the arm that was already draped around her just held her a little bit closer. The car that they were riding in slowly lurched to a stop. Sonny's driver knew that he was carrying precious cargo.

"Kristina… baby, we're here." Ethan whispered.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up, taking in her surroundings. Their eyes met and Ethan couldn't help but to smirk. As soon as her eyes found his, she smiled and greeted him with a kiss.

"How long was I asleep for?" she asked.

"You were out as soon as we got into the car…" he chuckled.

"Are we there yet?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're here at the airport… are you sure you wanna do this? It's six months away from Port Charles…" he said.

In her eyes, where there had been doubt before, there was nothing but love pouring out. She slid into his lap and pressed her lips to his and he could feel her lips curling up into a smile against his. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to do this with one of Sonny's drivers in the front and however much he wanted her, he pulled away. They had a plane to catch after all.

"Ok… ok… you can't say that I didn't try…" she murmured.

"There's plenty of time for that when we get to Sydney." Ethan said.

"Are you going to take me to some of your old stomping grounds?" she asked and he blanched.

"Uh, maybe not all of them…" he said, suddenly having flashbacks to his much rowdier days.

The door opened, revealing Sonny's somewhat menacing driver and he looked less than enthused to see his boss' daughter in a compromising position. Kristina sheepishly smiled and climbed off her husband and out of the car. With the driver behind them with their bags, they climbed the stairs to the plane but before they could enter, Ethan dropped down and swept her up into his arms.

"What're you doing?" she asked, barely containing her laughter.

"I'm carrying you over the threshold… since I didn't get to do it right after we got married, I'm doing it now…" he laughed.

"No! You're going to drop me!" she giggled.

"You're going to deny your husband this sacred ritual?" he asked, feigning shock.

She allowed him to carry her over the "threshold" of the plane and he sat down on one of the couches, bringing her with him because he simply refused to let her go. As soon as the driver had finished depositing their bags on the plane and took his leave, Kristina wrapped her limbs around him, closing the little space between the two of them, and locked him in a deep kiss.

"I love you… you know that, right?" she whispered.

"Yeah… and you know that you're the love of my life, right?" he said, curling a lock of her beautiful chestnut hair around her ear.

"I do… I do know—" she began.

Her eyes began to well up with tears and she pressed her forehead to his. He took her face in his hands and gently wiped away the tears with the pads of his thumbs. Her face was too lovely to be tearstained. He gently kissed both of her cheeks where the tracks glistened.

"Baby… don't cry… you know I can't stand to see you cry like this…" he said softly.

"I know… it's just—it's just that no one has loved me like you do, Ethan… I just want to be the wife you deserve." Kristina sobbed.

"You are… do you hear me? You are the most amazing human being that I've ever known. When you found out that I was in jail and you knew that I was in trouble, you came for me… when you heard me tell you how much I needed you, you came back to me. You've never failed me, Kristina… and I hope that I never fail you again." Ethan said and she shook her head.

"You've never failed me, Ethan… you've always fought for me and protected me. The best day of my life was when you came into it… and you've made me so happy…" she said as a watery smile broke across her face.

He brought her in for a kiss, a kiss that was filled with all of the passion and love that he had ever felt for this woman in his arms. The plane wasted no time in starting its taxi and takeoff and before either of them knew it, they were coasting over clear blue water, ascending into the clouds.

"Baby… baby, look out at the water…" Ethan said, like a giddy little kid.

He looked down and saw Kristina, fast asleep, still clinging onto his torso and he couldn't help but to smile. It had definitely been an exhausting few weeks and if anyone deserved a break from everything, it was them. Taking her cue, he draped a blanket over the two of them and nestled back into the couch, with her snuggled right beside him. Her ability to see past his faults was astounding but as long as she would have him, he would make sure that the promises that they made to each other would hold strong. He was going to love her for the rest of his life.

That much was certain.

_Oh simple thing where have you gone?  
><em>_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on  
><em>_So tell me when you're gonna let me in  
><em>_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin_

_And if you have a minute why don't we go  
><em>_Talk about it somewhere only we know?  
><em>_This could be the end of everything  
><em>_So why don't we go  
><em>_Somewhere only we know?_

"Somewhere Only We Know" – Keane

**THE END**


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